Chester County advances initial plan to use opioid settlement funds for AEDs and training

Chester County staff presented a plan to allocate an initial portion of opioid settlement proceeds toward automated external defibrillators (AEDs), storage boxes and training for county buildings and schools, and said the plan has been submitted to the opioid department.

Speaker 3, staff member, summarized advice from an outside advisor and described the proposed uses: "we could purchase boxes and and AED machines" and provide training for staff in county buildings and schools. Speaker 3 said the submission to the opioid department had a May deadline and "we did have to pass it through the commission."

The presentation cited guidance from "Richard Easton, UT advisor," who suggested the equipment and training approach. Speaker 3 said the county had received an initial check from a bank but expects additional checks; the item discussed is a proposal for how to spend the first check. Speaker 3 said the county will produce an annual report on how opioid settlement money is spent.

Why it matters: Local decisions on opioid settlement funds determine how money intended to respond to the opioid crisis is spent and reported to the state-level opioid department. The proposal prioritizes life-saving equipment and training in public facilities and schools.

Next steps and context: Staff said it has submitted the proposal to the opioid department and presented it to the commission as the first allocation; the transcript indicates a motion and second were present elsewhere in the meeting but does not record a roll-call vote for final approval of this specific allocation.